Spending Too Much Time In Space Could Literally Mess With Your Brain

A NASA-backed study looked at astronaut brains before and after different durations of spaceflight.

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Space can really mess with an astronaut's body — and apparently it can change the structure of their brain, too.

A NASA-backed study looked at how long-term and short-term space travel affects the brain. Particularly, how changes in brain structure from spaceflight might contribute to certain symptoms astronauts experience.

MRI scans showed the brains of most astronauts in the study who went on longer flights had noticeable changes — like shifting upward and changes in structure. Those changes happened less frequently after shorter trips.

But space can mess with the body in other ways, too. Early results from NASA's Twins Study found space travel changes the way genes are expressed.

Extended space stays can also temporarily make astronauts taller, cause them to lose bone mass if they don't exercise and may even alter their immune systems.